Commuting from Iowa City to Cedar Rapids (Dubuque, Burlington: living, prices)

[debclark]

My husband is considering a job in Cedar Rapids. If we move there, he wants to live in Iowa City. What would his commute be like (it looks like he'd be working in the center of Cedar Rapids)? Would it be just awful in the winter when it snows?

Thank you for any advice!

[MsIowa]

It's about a 30-40 min drive without the snow. It's not a terrible drive but with gas prices, could be costly.

[UNIFan]

Obviously it depends how close you are to Interstate 80 in Iowa City, but after you merge onto I-380, it will take like 20 minutes to get to downtown Cedar Rapids. It's a very easy drive, but like MsIowa said, with gas prices it may be costly depending on what you are used to.

[Busch71]

I.C. to C.R. in the morning is better than C.R. to I.C. You're looking at about a 40 minute drive.

[zz4guy]

Where are you guys getting this 40min. stuff? Even if trafic only moves at 60mph it is only 20 miles from downtown CR to I-80. Then it just depends where you're going in IC.

Traffic will move slower when it's snowing. Anywhere from 30-55mph until they get it salted.

I would worry more about where in IC to live. That is where all your time will be eaten up - negotiating city traffic.

[Roy G. Biv]

Yeah especially since the roads in Iowa City tend to be lower speed limit due to higher bicycle and pedestrian traffic. My mother in law commuted from CR to IC for almost 20 years and absolutely hated it. Although anyone who is used to hardcore commuting would probably find it a really easy drive. I "commute" from one corner of CR to the other and it takes me about 25 min to go 12 miles no matter what route I take. Driving to IC would almost be preferable because its so easy. But I have driven the IC to CR route when there is lots of fresh ice and snow and the problem is not the road itself. Its flat and straight mostly but the fact that there is consistently so much traffic on that road combined with the ice makes it stressful no matter what speed you're going.

[SharpHawkeye]

I'm not a regular commuter, but when I go up to CR I usually plan for it to be about a 30 min drive.

Of course, as Roy and ZZ have said--the city driving is where it all shakes out. For example, if your route takes you into the hospital traffic--that's going to add time. Burlington St. around rush hour can get a little backed up...same for Hwy. 6 in Coralville. All things to consider.

I imagine the DOT takes pretty good care of 380 during the storms, but it seems like one hears on the news a lot about accidents (especially around the Cedar Rapids part of the trip) causing backups a lot--winter weather or not.

If you settled on North Liberty, you could shave 10 miles off the trip and still be in the Iowa City area.

[Chicago60614]

I lived in downtown Iowa City and dated someone in the middle of Cedar Rapids. It was always almost exactly 30 minutes.

If you live up near northern Coralville though or North Liberty you're only going to be 15 miles or so, and can get there in 20 minutes or so.

I thought it was probably about as easy a commute as you can find in the country. Straight shot on I-380 right into downtown Cedar Rapids. Shoot out Dubuque or Melrose Ave in Iowa City towards 380.

It's bad in the winter when it snows, but in MOST winters (obviously not last winter) it only snows maybe 5 times where it affects your commute, and then it's normally just for one day. They always plow it off right away when it's finished snowing. Just depends.

I would advise looking for something maybe in Northern Coralville off 12th Ave or out towards Holiday Road and Highway 965. Or else if you don't need to be THAT close to Iowa City, you can look in North Liberty and be within a very quick commute of either CR or IC.

[neanerbean]

consider carpooling (saves on gas) and the commute is no that bad. I drove it for years, heck I can still drive it in my sleep. takes about 20 minutes, even on a bad day. traffic doesn't go below 65 half the time, I have gone at every single time of the day

[stl_63123]

Originally Posted by debclark

My husband is considering a job in Cedar Rapids. If we move there, he wants to live in Iowa City. What would his commute be like (it looks like he'd be working in the center of Cedar Rapids)? Would it be just awful in the winter when it snows?

Thank you for any advice!

Consider living between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. I hate Iowa City for traffic - try North Liberty.